Thousands of miles cut from bus services

THE number of Stagecoach South West bus drivers has fallen by 181 over the last two years, with 76 fewer buses in the company fleet and 71,071 lost miles in March alone this year, according to new figures published by the company.

The figures were shared with staff in the company’s in-house magazine Focus on the South West. They show that the number of Stagecoach drivers dropped from 1,014 in February 2020 to 833 in March 2022, while the number of buses on the road is down from 400 in 2019 to a fleet of 324 this month.

In September 2019 just over 78 per cent of buses were on time and the number of lost miles was 1,644. Punctuality has improved to 80 per cent in March 2022 – but the number of lost miles has soared to 72,715.

It follows urgent council highways meetings in Exeter about the ‘seriously failing service’ in and around the city. An RMT union spokesman said Stagecoach was burying its head in the sand about the scale of the crisis and added that bus workers are leaving “in their droves” because of working conditions and are frustrated because loyal customers are being let down.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach South West said: “The pandemic has accelerated long-term changes to our economy and communities, including in people’s travel patterns. We have made changes to our timetable and operations which reflect some of these changing travel patterns, and at the same time ensure we are continuing to run the vital services that our communities need.”

Transport union spokesman Barry West, regional organiser for the RMT, said: “The drivers are concerned because they are not delivering the bus services that the public deserves and the staff are loyal to their customers.”